Cigarette container



May 4 1926.

e. H, GROSS CIGARETTE CONTAINER Filed Oct. 17, 1924 Patented May 4,1926.

UNITED STATES GEORGE E. eaoss, or mornxmkenses.

cleansers conramnn.

Application filed October 17, 1924. Serial No. 744,240.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. Gaoss, a citizen of the United States,residing atv Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cigarette Containers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in containers or wrappers forcigarettes.

Cigarettes are ordinarily wrapped in a paper wrapping which is foldedand sealed at each end in such a manner that it is necessary to tearopen one corner at the upper .end of the packa e in order to gain accessto the cigarettes. n such a package the cigarettes are more or lesscloselypacked and difficulty is experienced in removing the first.

one or twocigarettes without mutilating the wrappers thereof. Such apackage also pre sents the disadvantage that when once torn open, thecigarettes are exposed to the atmosphere and, unless they are consumedin a short time, they lose their aroma and become dry. present inventionhas as one of its objects, to provide a package or container for cigarettes which may be more conveniently .no annoyance will be occasionedby thesmoker being required to feel about in the container for the oneor two remaining cigarettes.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container embodying the presentinvention in the condition in which it will be placed upon the marketFigure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, illustratingthe containeropened. I

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. j

Figure. 4 is a vertical front to rear sec tional view through thecontainer, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

In view of. the foregoing, the

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the body of the wrapperor container is formed.

Figure 6 is a similar view illustrating the blank from which the innerwrapper for the cigarettes is folded up.

Figure '7 is a plan view of a strip which may be employed in a manner tobe hereinafter described.

'In carrying out the invention, the cigarettes are first pac' ed in awrapper which is shown in blank form in Figure -6 of the drawings andcomprises a sheet 1 of parafv fined paper and a sheet 2 of tinfoil.These sheets are of rectangular form and are arranged in superposedrelation with their margins in registration, and the sheets are formedwith slits 3 which extend inwardly from the opposite margins ofv thesheets an equal distance and are in alinement with each other. For apurpose to be presently explained, a sheet 4 of celluloid or otherrelatively stiif and yet resilient material is disposed upon the centralportion of the paper sheet 1, and in packing the cigarettes, thecigarettes are arranged upon the face of this sheet 4 and the wrappingcomprising the sheets 1 and 2 is wrapped about the cigarettes, thewrapping being folded on the various score lines illustrated by thedotted lines 5 in Figure 6. The blank comprises an intermediate portion7 which is the portion against which the sheet 4 is disposed, portions 8which constitute the sides of the wrapper, and portions 9 whichconstitute the front ofthe wrapper, the portions 9 being of a widthslightly greater-than one half the width of thB'pOltlOl'l 7, so that themargin of one of the portions 9 will overlap the margin of the otherportion, and in order that this inner wrapper may be held closed. aboutthe cigarettes packed therein, a small adhesive area 10 is provided uponthe inner face of the sheet 1 -at the-margin of one of its portions 9and is moistened at the time of wrapping, and thus united to the outerface of the corresponding portion of the sheet 2, it being understoodthat the sheets 1- and 2' are both folded alike and, in fact, the twomay be considered to constitute a composite wrapping and protectivemedium for the cigarettes. The blank comprising the sheets 1 and 2further includes upper and lower marginal portions indicated one by thenumeral 11 and the other by the numeral 12, and these portions arefolded, as previously I stated, so as to close the upper and lower endsof the said wrapper. As above stated, the adhesive area 10 constitutesmeans for closing the wrapper, but, if desired, a band such as shownin'Figure 7 of the drawings,

and indicated by .the numeral 13', may be employed, and passed about thecompleted wrapping and this band may be provided with adhesive 1 1' atone end, thus adapting the ends of the band to be united and the bandsecured in place.

At this point it will be evident that when the cigarettes are enclosedwithin the wrapper comprising the sheets 1 and 2, they will beeffectually prevented from coming in contact with the air, but, on theother hand, when-the wrapper is torn at the point of location of theadhesive area 10, the wrapper as a whole may be opened at its verticalmiddle, as illustrated clearly in Figure2 of the drawings, to expose-thecontents, the incisions 3 permitting of the upper and lower closed endsof the wrapper separating at their mid-portions and without disturbingthe folded marginal portions 11 at the opposite sides of the incisions,sov that the cigarettes in each half of the wrapper are suitablyretained in place.

The outer wrapper or container proper of the present invention is formedfrom a blank such as is shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, and the samecomprises a portion 13 which constitutes the back of the container,portions 14- which constitute the side walls of the container,and-portions 15 which constitute the sections of the front ofthecontainer. The blank is formed from paper material possessing a suitabledegree of stiffness, and the portions 13, 14 and 15 are integrallyunited and defined .by score lines 16. The numerals 17 and 18 indicate.respectively, upper and lower closure flaps which are of trapezoidalform and are integrally connected with the upper and lower ends of thewrapper side wall portions 14 along the score line 19 and 20respectively. As stated, the flaps 17 and 18 are of trapezoidal form.their lateral edges being'parallel, their" iuncture with the side walls14 being on lines at right angles to their side edges, and their outeredges being obliquely disposed. The purpose of this arrangement will hepresently made apparent. The blank further includes closure flapportions for the upper and lower ends of the container indicatedrespectively by the nu merals 21 and 22, and located beside therelatively adjacent flaps 17 and 18 respec tively and integrallyconnected with the upper and lower edges of the respective front wallsections 15. These flaps 21 and 22 are likewise trapezoidal and theirjuncture with the respective front wall sections 15 is de fined bythescore lines 2 3 which are in ali-nementr with-thescore lines 19 and 20,as

clearly shown in Figure 5. Reinforcing flaps for the rear wall 13 of thecontainer, indicated by the numerals 24 and 25, are formed integrallywith the upper and lower edges of the respective flaps 21 and 22 and areof oblong rectangular form and of a length substantially equal to theheight of the wall portion 13.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawings, it will beobserved that in 15 forming the package or container, the previouslywrapped cigarettes are disposed against the face of the back wall 13,whereupon the side wall portions 14 of the blank are folded up toprovide the side walls of the container, and the front wall sections 15are folded in to provide the front of the container. At the time offolding the blank, the flaps 17 and 18 are likewise folded in to overliethe upper and lower ends of the pack- 55 age, the free end portions ofthe said flaps mutually overlapping as best illustrated in Figure 1 ofthe drawings. In folding over the portions 15 of the blank to form thefront wall of the container, the flaps 21 and W 2 are folded down tooverlie the overlap: ping flaps 17 and 18 respectively, and at the sametime, the flaps 24 and 25 are folded so as to overlap one another at theouter face. of the back 13 of the container, as best shown in Figure 3of the drawings, they being adhesively united to one another and to thesaid back 13 and constituting a means for reinforcing the said back. Byreference to said Figure 3, it will be observed that 10'.- the width ofthe flaps 24 and 25 is such that they reinforce the back wall 13 for itsentire width and, furthermore, their marginzil portions overlap in sucha manner as to provide a reinforcing portion 26 extending verticallyindially of the back 13 and of a thickness corresponding to the combinedthickness of all of the said flaps 24 and 25.

In order that the front of the package or container may be closed, astrip-like overlap 27 is provided at the free margin of one of the frontwall portions 15 to overlap the free margin of the other of saidportions At this point it will be evident that the front of thecontainer is held closed by the overlapping and mutual connection of themarginal portions of the front wall sections 15, and that the upper andlower ends of the container are closed, due to the overlapping of theflaps 17 and 18 and the flaps 21 and 22, the diagonal edges of the saidflap 21 registering with the corresponding edges of the flap 17, and thediagonal edges of the flap 22, in a similar manner, registering with thecorresponding edges of the flap 18, the flaps at the opposite sides ofthe top and bottom of the container mutually overlapping, as illustratedmost clearly in Figural, so as to close-the upper and lower endsof thecontainer. It will also be evident that upon breaking the seal 27, andlikewise breaking the seal 10, the con-v tainer may be opened byswinging the two halves away from each other on the reinforced back 26as a hinge, so to speak, one half of the contents of the container beingretained within one of the sections thereof and the other half of thecontents in the other section. In this manner, the cigarettes may bereadily removed from. the container as desired, and when the containeris closed, its originally connected. and overlapping portions will againmatch in such a manner as to effectually protect the remainingcigarettes from the air and from foreign matter which readily enters theordinary cigarette package. By providing the central reinforcement 26,which is considerably stifi'er than any other portion of the back wallof the container, the tendency is for the twohalves of the container toassume a closed position, and, therefore, the container may be carriedabout in ones pocket without fear that it will accidentally open todischarge the contents therefrom.

The sheet 4 may bear advertising matter, a picture, or any other printedmatter, but its primary function is to serve as a fol lower to urge thecigarettes in the direction 7 of the front of the container, when thecon tainer is open, the said sheet bein more or less resilient, due tothe material of which about within the container to remove therefrom oneor two remaining cigarettes.

Having thus described the invention, what ll claim is:

A. container, comprising in combination with. a commodity to becontained therein, an inner wrapper for the commodity completelyenclosing the same and having front wall portions the margins of whichare overlapped and initially connected to each other, the upper andlower ends of the wrapper being formed with incisions whereby to permitof the wrap er being spread open along its front and thereby expose thecontents, when the connection between the mar inal portions of the frontwall sections of the wrapper is broken, and an outer containercomprising a back wall, side walls, and front wall sections integralwith the side walls and meeting at their free edges, the containerhaving upper and lower closed ends each comprising overlapping portionsextending over and closin the said incisions of the inner wrapper, t econtainer being adapted to be spread open at its front by fiexure of themid portion of its back wall.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

cnonen n. shoes.

